Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft are edging closer to reality, with a growing number of two-seat and larger designs making steady progress toward certification — many within the next one to five years.
The Vertical Flight Society (VFS) highlighted these developments at its 19th Annual Electric Aircraft Symposium, held recently in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Leaders from Wisk Aero, AIR EV, Horizon Aerospace, and several other eVTOL companies delivered presentations and joined panel discussions.
Other topics at the symposium included vertiport and airport infrastructure, propulsion and energy systems, regional air mobility, and the future of the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector.
Tom Gunnarson, Wisk’s regulatory affairs lead, emphasized the company’s pioneering role as the developer of the first all-electric autonomous aircraft in the U.S.
“We’re one of only a few companies here to partner with the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] on autonomy,” he said. “This allows us to help mold policy being written.”
He also noted that Wisk and NASA have signed a partnership agreement to help define industry standards supporting the integration of autonomous aircraft into the National Airspace System (NAS).
In June, Wisk announced its acquisition of SkyGrid — a move Gunnarson said will enable the company “to address the critical challenges necessary for expanding safe, efficient, and autonomous flight.”
Gunnarson also addressed developments in the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) space as well, noting that Wisk is looking forward to the FAA’s release of several new rules for part 108 beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations in the near future. He described the forthcoming regulations as “stepping stones toward a regulatory path for remotely-supervised passenger-carrying operations.”
On a related note, Gunnarson highlighted that in June, the U.S. president signed an executive order titled Unleashing American Drone Dominance.
“Why that’s important for us is that it refers to accelerating the safe integration of UAS into the NAS through timely risk-based rules,” he said. In his view, the order will help ensure that all UAS test ranges are fully utilized to support the development and scaling of American drone technologies — and may also lead to the establishment of a pilot program for autonomous eVTOLs.
Progress on MOSAIC
Among the topics covered, Matt Smith, lead for certification and airworthiness at AIR EV, highlighted the FAA’s progress on the light sport MOSAIC certification path for two-seat eVTOLs, the category into which AIR EV’s aircraft falls.
“Industry and the FAA have been working together to bring MOSAIC to the point where it’s now on the cusp of being issued,” Smith said. “We want to make sure to take a moment to say thank you for that.”
North of the Border
John Wyzykowski, technical and propulsion lead at Horizon Aircraft in Lindsay, Ontario, outlined the use cases for the company’s hybrid-electric VTOL design. The aircraft combines a conventional turbofan engine for cruise flight with 14 wing-mounted fans for vertical lift.
While the design is well suited for typical business jet missions, Wyzykowski emphasized that it’s also “highly suitable, due to its cargo capacity, for emergency services and cargo delivery. It’s equipped with a large cabin door for medevac operations.”
The aircraft also features folding wings, allowing two units to fit inside a Boeing C-17 for transport.
Wyzykowski reported that Horizon has received the green light from Transport Canada to begin untethered test flights. “And in the last two months, we demonstrated full transition flight testing of that half-scale model,” he added. “The full-scale [version] is yet to come.”
Horizon is targeting certification through Transport Canada by 2028 — a process the company believes is made easier by the relatively limited competition in Canada.
“We don’t have the competition you see in the U.S. or Europe,” Wyzykowski said. “And typically, Transport Canada works closely with both the FAA and EASA — their rules are harmonized with those two entities. I think that gives us a distinct advantage when it comes to achieving a smooth certification and entry into service.”
